


I Will Be Brave

by ShepherdSoreyDidNothingWrong (Sagnessagiel)



Series: Worth the Wait [4]
Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: Angst, Family Feels, Humour, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-12 02:12:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18001838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sagnessagiel/pseuds/ShepherdSoreyDidNothingWrong
Summary: Sorey woke up in a new world. Here's what happened next





	I Will Be Brave

Sorey lies awake until dawn and into the morning, thinking. 

The hotel bed is softer than the throne was but he could not go to sleep now if he really tried. He has had enough sleep for a lifetime, he feels. Besides that, there was no calming his mind after the events of last night. 

A lot has happened since he went to sleep. He knows that much. The question is how he will go about coping with this new world and everything that has changed in it. It threatened to overwhelm him when he first woke up, surrounded by people and glowing, beeping things he did not recognise. But then there was Mikleo in the middle of it. He looks different now, with longer hair and sharper lines in his face, but Sorey would know him anywhere. 

Sorey looks different too. He has grown in the time he slept, and Maotelus kept him aware despite the sleep. They went through so many stories, memories. Though Maotelus has a veritable wellspring of them, there was still enough room in a thousand years for Sorey to share some of his own. Maotelus - Phi, he insisted - loved them all. 

He wonders where Phi is now. By all rights he should have returned to the earth, but what does that mean, exactly? And what is Sorey returning to, exactly? Is Elysia even still there? Mount Mabinogio?

Footsteps alert him to Mikleo entering the room. He has only been to the bathroom to freshen up, but Sorey seems to have a shiny new fear of him leaving the room. He has not seen Mikleo in a thousand years, and now every second matters. 

Sorey sits up on the bed and watches as Mikleo sweeps the water out of his hair by hand. 

He remembers a few things from before he went to sleep. He did not lose himself - Maotelus made sure of that - but the memories are far off, as though they are someone else's. But last night he remembers. That long hair was a beautiful mess. He remembers grasping hands and soft lips, nails digging into his back. Mikleo was whispering in his ear, _you're alive, you're real, you're still alive_. He shivers.

Mikleo is looking at him. His eyes are an impossible amethyst, far better than Sorey remembers. He looks concerned.

"Is everything okay?"

Nothing is okay. He has been away for too long, left Mikleo to fend for himself. He tries to speak, but the words clump up in his throat. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. 

The mattress dips next to him and he opens his eyes to look into Mikleo's. For a moment they just gaze at each other. 

Sorey reaches up to sweep an errant strand behind Mikleo's ear. 

"I'm sorry," he says, his voice thin. 

Mikleo's expression shutters, and for a moment Sorey can see something he does not recognise. It tells him in one moment just how much Mikleo has changed, because Sorey can no longer read him the way he used to. But then Mikleo puts his own hand over Sorey's on his cheek and smiles weakly. 

"It's okay," he says. 

" _No_ ," Sorey says. "It's not."

Mikleo squeezes his hand. He pushes it further, urging it past his ear and up for Sorey's fingers to thread in his hair. He is close enough that Sorey can smell the mint on his breath. 

"Perhaps," Mikleo says, "but it can be eventually."

The kiss is soft and languid, different from the fervent ones they shared last night. Sorey melts into it, and Mikleo becomes the same comforting presence he always was. The moment is broken a second later by a sound like the meowing of a cat. Sorey pulls back, confused. 

Mikleo is less so. Sighing softly in annoyance, he reaches for his pants, slung over a chair, and takes out what looks like a little glass shape in a metal frame. He pushes a button on it and it lights up with an image. Like many other things he has seen in the last fifteen hours, it astounds Sorey. 

"What's happening?" he asks. 

"People are wondering how we're doing," Mikleo says. His expression remains blank as he taps on it. Then it changes to a look of mortified realisation. 

"Oh, lords," he says. "Nancy."

Sorey frowns. "Who?"

Mikleo stands up and walks around the room, picking up his pants and pulling them on before heading for his shirt. 

"She has a dinner and we-" he shakes his head, "I'm supposed to be there. I have to call her and tell her I can't come."

Sorey crawls over to the opposite side of the bed where Mikleo is standing. He grabs Mikleo's arm, stopping him in his tracks. 

"Who's Nancy?" he asks. 

At first Mikleo looks like a deer in headlights. He slowly comes to sit down again next to Sorey. 

"She's..." He fumbles for words. 

Sorey gives him his kindest, most understanding smile. 

"You don't need to protect me, Mikleo. If she's someone special to you-"

"I had a daughter," Mikleo says. His eyes remain steady on Sorey's, watching his reaction. 

Sorey freezes up at that. Those are not the words he expected to hear, but now that they are out in the air, they seem retroactively inevitable. He should have known that things had gone this far in his absence. The fact that Mikleo came back to him at all actually surprised him a little bit, if he is honest with himself. He has not been since he woke up. 

"And then she had a son," Mikleo says gently. "And that bloodline has continued for some centuries now."

Sorey takes one deep breath after another. He keeps his eyes on Mikleo's. When the silence drags on, he opens his mouth.

"I..." He considers his words carefully. He can imagine that Mikleo feels as fragile as he does. "I can't say I was ready to hear that."

Mikleo looks panicked for an instant, his concern as overwhelming as the news themselves. Sorey calms him with a familiar gesture, placing his hand on Mikleo's shoulder. 

"Wait," he says. "I can't say I'm ready for any of this, but I knew this might happen. You couldn't sit around forever when I might not even wake up."

Something flashes in Mikleo's eyes then. Something old and hostile, but entirely new to Sorey. It quickly disappears as his expression shutters. 

"I always knew you'd wake up," he says with the same determination Sorey recognises from over a thousand years ago. 

Sorey can find nothing to say to that, so instead he reaches up and pulls Mikleo in to rest their foreheads together. Mikleo allows him, briefly closing his eyes. 

"Like you said," Sorey says, "it will be okay."

Mikleo sighs. 

"I hope so."

It will take them some time to go through everything, he imagines. For the moment, he wants to focus on the essentials, and the most important thing to him has always been Mikleo. That is why he says the words he says next. 

"I want to meet her."

There is a beat of silence. Then Mikleo pulls back to look at him warily. 

"Are you sure? It's barely been a day since you woke up."

"Not right this minute, perhaps," Sorey concedes, "but she's someone important to you, and I have a lot to catch up on. I don't want to sped another thousand years missing out on the things that matter."

At Mikleo's apparent hesitance, he sweeps gentle fingers over his cheek again. 

"I promise I'm not going to fall apart. Don't worry, Mikleo."

Mikleo's laugh is weak, but it is there, and that is something. 

"Don't even try with that," he says and moves closer again. "I've worried for a thousand years. I'm a seasoned pro at this point."

"Promise me this, then," Sorey mutters against his temple. "Come with me and protect me that way. I've been locked away enough."

This new world may be overwhelming, but he wants to see it. As far as he is concerned, he has missed out on a lot in a thousand years. He wants to see it all, and he wants Mikleo with him to do it. The way things were before. 

He tries not to think about Mikleo's words last night. Whatever they meant, he wants to know who Mikleo is now. Even if it hurts him. Even if it means getting to know someone other than the man he went on adventures with in the Age of Chaos. This is the Age of Purification, and Sorey wants to know what that truly means. 

"I'm not going anywhere," Mikleo says into his neck. "If anything, someone has to explain all this madness to you."

Sorey can hear the smile in his voice, feel it against his skin. He smiles too and wraps his arms around Mikleo in a hug. 

"I can't wait."

* * *

 

Despite Sorey's eagerness, they end up staying in the hotel room for a few days. His mind may be ready and eager, but his body has barely moved in a thousand years. Even with Phi's replenishing powers to prevent atrophy, his body has been reborn to seraph form. It takes some time to get used to, and his coordination suffers for it. Mikleo is very understanding, and refuses for a while to hand him anything but plastic cups. 

To Sorey's delight, that means Mikleo ends up helping him eat. They order room service and stay there, talking until their voices wear thin. Sorey practices his coordination by barely taking his hands off Mikleo (he maintains that it counts) who does not mind that at all. It goes from soft to passionate to little things, the brush of fingers over Mikleo's arm as they read together. Sorey uses it as a reminder. It is constant, tangible proof that he is really awake and really there. His memories never compared to this. 

He learns a lot in those few days. Nancy, he finds out, is Mikleo's granddaughter with twelve precursing "great"s. She has children of her own, making them the fifteenth generation of Mikleo's family counting himself as the first. The thought is as exhilarating as it is terrifying. It is also sad in a way he does not want to think about. 

Mikleo explains that his daughter, Meryl, was an infant whose parents he was unable to save from a group of hellions. He recounts the story as though it is recent, and perhaps to him it is. Sorey may have noticed the passing of time while asleep, but there was little else to indicate it than Phi's voice in the darkness. He imagines time must have passed much faster for Mikleo, who has seen a world and a half by now. He still focuses on his family in the retelling. 

When Sorey asks him about the generals of the world, Mikleo surprises him with delightful news. 

"There is a university in Marlind," he says. "They have an extensive historical and archaeological division, and they have been developing a summary course for centuries specifically for you."

Sorey can feel his eyes lighting up. 

"Really?"

"Oh yes." Mikleo looks amused. "Though I will still do my best to help with the specifics. It'd take a while to go through everything there."

He practically vibrates with excitement at the prospect. To keep his mind on recovery and his feet firmly planted, Mikleo agrees to tell him of the device he keeps looking at and tapping on between conversations. He calls it a cellphone, and Sorey listens in fascination as Mikleo lists all of its functions. Apparently the version of it that existed before was simpler to use, which is understandable, and Sorey knows Mikleo well enough to recognise some annoyance at this change. It amuses him to no end. 

They talk about cellphones and hotels and cars and electricity, and Mikleo defines them all for him. Sorey marvels at the progress. Then Mikleo tells him of all the history he has learned and the ruins he has visited, the civilisations he has seen remnants of everywhere from the mountains to the bottom of the ocean. Here Sorey can chime in on what he remembers, and he finds himself grateful for this anchor to grasp. His emotions are a wild mixture, but he remains positive to every new experience. Then Mikleo tells him of his home. 

It is almost imperceptible, but something changes about Mikleo when he speaks of his house. There is a sadness there that Sorey cannot see the reason for. He is debating whether or not to ask about it with himself - Mikleo is a different person now, and he was secretive to begin with - when Mikleo mentions his books. 

Sorey draws in a sharp breath. "You did it? You wrote a book?"

Mikleo's smile is genuine now. "Loads of them. They aren't even all about you."

He winks. The statement does something to Sorey that he himself cannot define. It is both a happy and a sad feeling, but trying to untangle exactly why leaves him with a mild headache. He resolves to just be happy that Mikleo never forgot him, that he never stopped being important to the person he loves. 

Mikleo promises Sorey to take him to his house. He also promises to take him traveling and to take him to Marlind University. He promises to seek out all of their old friends and to bring Sorey back to Elysia. With each word, the hotel room becomes smaller and more confining. 

After a week of rest, Sorey already feels ready to leave. Mikleo, who has never been able to fully stop him, agrees to go with him. Even their first steps out into the lobby feel alien, though he walked through it just seven days ago in the dark of night. Mikleo leads him now as he did then, holding him by the hand and sidestepping anyone who dares try to speak to them. There are a lot, but not as many as Mikleo warned him there would be. Apparently Sorey has a lot to learn about his own place in this world. 

* * *

 

He is famous. They both are. This he learns quickly. 

Mikleo takes them through a veritable maze of a city. They ride in a car (which he asks many questions about) with tinted windows, and everywhere he looks there are people to protect them from others who seem to almost attack with bright flashes of light. They leave and head out onto the open road, and Sorey feels almost deaf in the newfound silence. This despite the rumble of what he has learned is called an engine. 

It will take them ten hours of driving to reach Mikleo's home. Apparently he lives in Zaphgott Moor, which Sorey would have considered unlikely before he found out what Mikleo deals with in crowded areas. The desert seems the perfect hiding place, and the northeast corner is unpopulated as far as he remembers. Mikleo assures him that it remains that way. 

Sorey spends the whole trip with his eyes out the window and on the open countryside. Everything looks very different, but there are still strands left of what he knows. Structures he recognises and green grass. Bare cliffs he remembers camping on a literal millennium ago. Seeing them again is surreal. 

Whenever he glances back, Mikleo's eyes are on him. Mikleo's smile is soft as he watches Sorey enjoy the view. It competes well with the sight of Mikleo well dressed and with his hair pinned up neatly, winning only by a slim margin. He has to remind himself, however, that he has all the time he wants now to look at Mikleo for it to work. 

They cross the Great Camelot Bridge in mere minutes. It is an exciting thought to consider what else they might be able to reach if this is the speed at which they can travel. Sorey looks forward to all of it. 

* * *

 

Mikleo may have described his house as luxurious, but Sorey had little imagination with which to picture it. 

It is not that he has not seen extravagant structures before. From the Pendrago cathedral to the shrinechurch and royal palace of Hyland, he has seen his fair share of fancy buildings. This house is nothing compared to them in size and decoration, but it shows its wealth in other places. There is a personal library the size of an apartment by itself, filled to the brim with journals, travel logs, history books, and surprisingly, science fiction literature. The latter is something Mikleo has to explain to Sorey, and Sorey stares at him in confusion until Mikleo squirms enough to change the subject. He takes Sorey to the kitchen (which Sorey can barely make heads or tails of), then to the balcony. It reminds Sorey a lot of the Mabinogio ruins, a platform suspended above sharp cliffs. He looks out over the ocean in wonder. 

Mikleo's arm curves around his waist and he uses the other hand to point to the centre of the sky, far above the water in the horizon. 

"That's where your light used to be," he says. His tone is wistful, which is encouraging. At least he was not only a source of sadness. 

"It used to be a beacon to guide sailors home," Mikleo says. "Even if they were going elsewhere, the light was visible anywhere on the sea. You needed only angle the vessel according to it."

Sorey nods solemnly. "I see." 

He looks out at the horizon, trying to picture that spire that Mikleo has described to him so many times now. He has a hard time placing it, and he is unsure why. Perhaps it has to do with the bright sunlight over the ocean today, or perhaps he just cannot make it real in his mind. 

"Somehow I have a hard time believing that I could lead anyone anywhere in my sleep," he says jokingly. Mikleo squeezes his hip. 

"You were the shining spire," he says, and it is clear from his tone that those words have gained new meaning since Sorey went to sleep. "The light in the sky. Everyone trusted in you."

"Did you?" Sorey asks, subtly glancing at Mikleo's face.

"I did," Mikleo says. He leans forward to rest his elbows on the railing. "But faith can be difficult sometimes."

In the next moment, Sorey has turned and wrapped both arms around Mikleo's waist. He pulls him gently closer and brushes fingers softly over his cheek. 

"Well, there's no more need for faith," he says gently. "I'm here now. You're done waiting."

Mikleo's eyes are glassy as he looks at him. He swallows hard, and Sorey waits patiently for him to speak. 

"I've missed you," Mikleo says, and there are a lot more meanings in it than the words themselves convey. Sorey takes it all in, basking in it. He is grateful even for the sadness, because it proves to him yet again that this is really Mikleo in his arms. He could not imagine this while asleep. Phi would not let this happen to him only for it to disappear. 

"I love you," he says, because the time is over for missing each other. Now he wants new words, new meanings. He wants a new life with Mikleo, and this time they will not waste their time together. This time it will be real. 

Mikleo kisses him, firm and insistent. He grasps at Sorey's shoulders the same way he did when Sorey woke up, a firm reminder once again of what they are now. Sorey tangles his fingers in Mikleo's hair, and they cling to each other in the warm sunlight. It is only them now, and for that he can wait a little longer to explore the world. 

* * *

 

He is not prepared for the moment his family appears on the computer screen. 

Mikleo has explained to him just what this thing is and what it does. He has also admitted to not being very good at handling it himself. That is a relief, as Sorey barely followed him through the explanation. They end up having to call Rose to get a handle on the call, but eventually they get that connection with their family in Elysia. Sorey's breath leaves him as Natalie's face appears on the screen. 

"Hey, handsome," she says softly. She is smiling and her eyes are filling with tears. "Haven't seen you in some time."

Sorey feels his own eyes welling up. She looks beautiful, long hair and a softness to her face that was not there when last he saw her. She is beginning to remind him of Medea. 

"Hi, Natalie." It is a relief to say her name. A release of tension in his chest that he was not aware he had. 

Another face pops into view behind her, and Sorey laughs through his tears at the sight of Chiron coming into view. Then Medea, then Kyme. 

"Is that him?" they ask. "Is he alright?"

He has been awake for over a month now, but this is the first time the full extent of the time he has spent asleep catches up to him. His family is there, they are real, and he can talk to them. They are not a memory, conjured up to hold on to, or to show Maotelus. There are lines around Natalie's eyes that are entirely new. 

He loves them. He loves all of them, and he cannot wait to get back home. They have a flight booked for the next day, but the two of them were far too impatient, and so they find themselves navigating yet another machine to talk to them. Sorey is beginning to take a real shine to technology. 

"It's so good to see you all," he says. 

Natalie grins, and Kyme comes forward to take the phone from her. 

"Let us go and find the others. They'll all want to see that you're awake and okay."

"Yeah." He nods, and the tears are beginning to fall properly now. "I'd love to talk to you all. I have so much to tell you."


End file.
